Instead of directly claiming "Burger King is the best burger brand," we wanted to hear that the brand was a “truly delicious premium burger brand” through the real voice of consumers. We hid Burger King’s identity and created an imaginary brand with the name “I AM NOT KING,” a name seemingly mocking Burger King.

To create the impression that it is an actual existing brand and to instill a sense of scale and anticipation for the new brand, an active Instagram channel was created, OOH displays were installed, and a fake store was opened in the mecca of burger brands.

Currently, Korea is overflowing with global burger brands, to the point where it is referred to as the ‘battleground for Premium Burgers.' The ‘Gangnam’ area especially, can be considered the hottest battleground with three of the major U.S. burger brands, Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Super Duper all being located on a single street. To this degree, Korean consumers have a high interest in burgers and a significantly high curiosity about new brands.

Our goal was to introduce the new product not as a competitor to Burger King’s existing direct competitors like McDonald's or KFC, but as a product that could stand alongside premium burger brands. To achieve this, we launched the 'I AM NOT KING' campaign, which concealed the brand’s name ‘Burger King,’ and made it seem as though a new premium brand was being launched.

According to the market research firm Euro Monitor, the size of the hamburger market in Korea was expected to grow from 1.9 trillion won in 2013 to 4 trillion won in 2022, reaching an estimated 5 trillion won by the end of the year. Even more so, in Korea, burgers are transforming perception, evolving from a simple fast-food option to a sophisticated and satisfying meal.

And, also Korean consumers acquire and share information about 'tasty restaurants' through social media. They have a curiosity for new brands or foods and enjoy trying them out. So, We decided to leverage this tendency of Korean consumers to promote its new product.

The 'Originals Pepper Jack,' Burger King's first trial of the ‘Super Premium’ line in Korea, is a product that does not fall behind and can stand against high-priced handmade burgers. However, Burger King is underrated in Korea for being a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand. Since the new product was created with excellent ingredients, extensive research, and testing, we decided to launch a campaign that was uniquely witty instead of a simple ad claiming ‘premium quality.’ Moreover, there was a need to break consumers' biases against the brand and showcase the high quality of Burger King's new product.

In order to overcome the bias consumers have towards well-known franchises, an imaginary new brand was created to hide the Burger King brand. Different from other products released by Burger King, the product was evaluated only based on its taste at a specially created offline store. Boldly setting aside the reputation Burger King had in Korea, We planned and executed to allow consumers to experience the brand in a new way.

One month before the release of the new product, a social media account for 'I AM NOT KING' was created to announce the launch of the brand, attracting a total of 1,800 followers. From these followers, approximately 140 consumers and famous influencers were invited to a tasting event at the offline store. OOH campaign was also carried out in areas densely populated with premium burger brands. On the day of the product launch, the social media account and all OOH displays with 'I AM NOT KING' were changed to show 'I AM BURGER KING.' A film was also released on Burger King’s official media channel and stores, revealing all the activities that were carried out. Consumers were surprised to find out the real identity of ‘I AM NOT KING.’ Upon discovering the clues that were hidden in the store throughout the film, they expressed extreme surprise on social media.

*Total Campaign Views 8,730,000 (* 181%↑vs. expectation)

*Campaign Video Views 6,790,000 (* 141%↑vs. expectation)

*Total Likes 240,000+ / Total Comments 5,000+

*Initial stock sold out, additional sales in progress after ingredient restock

*520,000+ burgers sold within 1 month of launch (* 198%↑vs. expected target)

*Additional sales +231% vs. Week 1 target, vs. +209% vs. Week 2 target

Before it launched, we provided products free to consumers who visited the I AM NOT KING brand store so they could try them. Consumers didn't know it was Burgerking's new product. There were no discount promotions at all after it launched because the 'Originals Pepper Jack' was launched as one of the premium burger lines.